Metal wheel



I. A. ANGLADA.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@Nl WWII DOOOU J. A. ANGLADA.

METAL WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAYII 6, 1920. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Apr.

J. A. ANGLADA.

METAL WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I7l 1918.

Ptented Apr. 6, 1920. Q 4 SHEETS-Sl'lfg 4. wvl Y s 57' Humm APATENTv oFFIcE. f

JOSEPH A. Ansmann, OEPHILADELPHIA WHEEL & RIM CoMrANY,`oF CHICA NOIS.

lSpecification of Letters Patent.

PENNSYLVANIA, .ASSIGNOR TQ BAKER G0, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLI- METAL WHEEL'.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

Application filed May 17, 1918. Serial No. 235,116.

To all whom. it mayA concern:

Be it known that I, JosErH A. ANGLADA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and

State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metal lVheels, of which thefollowing is a specilication.

My invention relates to imp-rovements in and upon,"'and for the manufacture of, wheels, more especially motor vehicle wheels;and its object is to so modify the constructie design and. distribution of parts that they may be rapidly and cheaply made from sheet material, and greatly improved in strength, resilience, efficiency, stability and durability, and shall -be safer, of less weight, ofV less cost, silent, and easier to keep clean; A further object is to provide a wheel construction which shall lend itself to beauty of design, and' any desired finish. Another object of my invention is to provide a metallic vehicle wheel of the suspension type but which shall be formed from sheet metal, as distinguished from the so-called wire wheels in present use. A special object of the invention is to provide .a lmethod of producing metal wheels from 'sheet and strip metal in a simple, inexpensive manner and at low cost; and`particu-- ,larly to provide a method whereby such wheels may be made substantially without 56 the wheel parts fromythe sheet metal ;-Fig.

lwaste of material.

The invention resides, primarily, in a resilient wheelvof the suspension type, mainly `formed or stamped from la sheet or .plate of material `(such as sheet steel), and which, Vby variouschanges in configuration may be `presentedjn many forms and designs, and adapted to many different uses. The'inveml tion also consists' in details of design, construction, and combination'of parts, as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

M v invention will be'more readily'understood by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein I have shown what I oonsiderftovbethebest embodiments of my `no\ 'el invention including method of producing the" wheel. Y

ln. the said drawings: Figure l represents a portion of sheet metal from which I produce the wheel, and'galso indicates the first step lin the-method of stamping Vor cutting 2 is a view illustrating the second step in forming the wheel, the same being a part or blank stamped or sheared from the sheet and then shaped to cylindrical formg-Fig 3 illustrates the next step in the formation -of the wheel, to-wit:-the forming of the partishown in Fig. 2 to a shape suitable for attachment to the hub flange of a wheel hu-b ,-F ig. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating, byl 'means of dotted lines, how that portion of the wheel which forms the outside spoke portion is shaped ;-F ig. 5 is a transverse sectional view. illustrating the shaped spoke or body portions of the wheel in initial assembling relation without a wheel hub .but with the peripheral member, in this case the metal fellyg-Fig 6 is similar to Fig. 5 but il1ustrates the assembled relation of the parts Fig. 7 is a face view of a wheel of the form shown in Figs. 5 and G, together with a demountable rim, pneumatic tire, and theusual rim-clamping lugs `;-Fig. 8 is a vertical section substantially on the lines 8-8 of Fig. 7 ;F ig. 9 is like Fig. 8, the difference being that Fig. 8 illustrates a rear or driving wheel having a brake drum, whereas Fig. 9 shows the wheel as it appears when used .as a steering wheel;-Figs. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

`and 15, are sectional Views illustrating modications of my invention and adaptations thereof to pneumatic-tire carrying, demountable rims; to pneumatic-tire carrying, non-demountable rims, and to solid rubber tires A;-Fig. 16 is a vertical, sectional view showing a modification of my invention as sov embodied in a broadtruck wheel ;-Fig.

17 is a detail, sectional View illustrating my invention as applied to a pneumatic tire rim which has a detachable side flange ;-F ig. 18 is a view illustrating a, modication in ,which a demountable, quick-detachable-rin1 is lmounted upon the wheel felly ;-Figs. 19 and 20 are fragmentary plan views showing methods of lsecuring the spoke ends in the wheel felly;-Figs. 21 and^ 22 are respec tively fragmentary views, partially in elevation and partiallyin section, of the spoke securing method shown in Fig. 20.;-Figs. 23 and 24 are fragmentary sectionalvviews of the felly portion pf the wheel showing modified methods o`fs`ecuring the spoke ends in place; and Fig. 25 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modiiedmethod of joining the body of the wheel to the hub.

wooden ,artillery wheel and of much greater strength and stability. The diameter, the hub length (within reasonable limlts) the width of the peripheral flanges and `th e width of the spokes may be -varied to suit load and service requirements and the designers conception of proportions and beauty. Most of the exemplary wheels herein shown are motor vehicle wheels of familiar diameters and hub lengths.

I am aware that it has been proposed here- Itofore to manufacture\ metallic vehicle Wheels from sheet metal, but in the methods heretofore prevailing, great wastage of material has resulted due very largely to the methods of manufacture, which usually consisted in stamping or pressing the complete circular wheel body out of a square or rectangular sheet of metal. This has been the `usual method whether the wheel were of the so-called disk type or of the spoke type. The wastage referred to resulted not only from the manufacture of a circular Wheel from a square or rectangular sheetof metal, but also in those types having spokes, from the removal of very considerable portions of metal between adjacent spokes. It is one of the objects of my invention practically to eliminate this expensive wastage of material.

Inl practising my invention, I prefer,`instead of using a square she'et of metal,` to start with a long sheet or wide strip of rectangular shape, the width of which is equal substantially to the outer circumference of the hub portion of the wheel to be formed, and` the length of which is such as to enable the progressive or simultaneous production of a plurality of blanks or members of la character suitable for the major or spoke portion of the wheel. In the present instance, I manufacture a plurality of wheel blanks froma single sheet of metal with the spoke portions of the blanks so relativelypositioned and formed as to interfit, and hence cut from the sheet substantially Without wastage of material.

Having now stated the general method of procedure, I will describe my invention in detail, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings.

In the said drawings. 2 represents a rectangular sheet of metal of a thickness suitable for the particular typey of-wheel being manufactured. The'character of the metal Will be determined very largely by the service conditions to be imposed upon the wheel; that is tosay, if the wheel is for use on a large, heavy vehicle or truck, 'the sheet metal will be somewhat thicker than for wheels to be used on lighter passenger vehicles. lThe sheet metal, 2, is next stamped or sheared along the dotted lines 3 3 and 4-4, thus forming two blanks .or members, 5 and 6, having respective spoke portions, 7 and 8.4 The part 6, as a matter of convenience, will be hereinafter referred to as the inner spoke portion, and the member 5 as the outer spoke portion. The members 5 and 6 are next shaped to cylindrical form as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and preferably welded or otherwise joined respectively along the lines 9 and 10. Up to this stage of manufacture there need be no difference between the members 5 and 6l and they could be'used interchangeably for the manufacture of either the outer or inner spoke portion of the wheel. lVhen the blank isto be used for theinner portion of the wheel, I prefer next to shape the spoked end of the blank outwardly and at substantially right angles thereto, thus producing a flat. -central, imperforate portion, 12, and a smaller rectangularly disposed portion or flange as is shown in Figs.. 2 and 3. I assemble the outer and inner spokepotions of the wheel centrally with and upon the wheel hub, 14. as shown in Fig. 6, and I so form the interior portion, 15, of the wheel hub that it can be assembled upon either Athe front or rear axles of anv standard or approved automobile axle. The hub, 14, is provided with the usual hub flange, 16, wherein I form a plurality of bolt holes, 17. for the reception of bolts. 18 (see Fig. 6), which pass through the perforations, 19, in the inner spoke portion and thereby firmly secure same upon the flange.

As stated in -the opening of the specification. it is an 'object of my invention to provide a true suspension-type Wheel, and to this end it is necessary to tension the spokes This I accomplish in a very simple manner. I first secure the end portions, 20, of the spokes inthe wheel fell'y. This is done by moving the outer and inner body portions into the widely separated positions shown by means of dotted lines in Fig. 5. This permits placement of the spoke ends, 22, in the receiving slots, 22, of the felly` or other peripheral member. The outer and inner spoke portions are then moved to the positions shown by means of the full lines in Fig. This forces the spoke-ends into theirslots and they are then secured in any suitable manner, a number of ways being described hereinafter. The full-line posi*- tion, shown in Fig. 5, finds the outer and inner body members in closer relation than without departing'from they occup. inthe final wheel. The ends of the spo es having been secured in the slots or holes of the` felly portion, and` the two body portions being then in the condition shown' by full lines in Fig. 5, the lhub is forcibly thrust into the hub-holes of the two body members. It will be noted that Athe hub is provided with a shoulder, 14. This shoulder engages the inner edge of the outer body member, leaving the hub flange, 16, distant from the other member of thewheel body. Thereuponithe bolts, 18,

are put in place and the inner or back member of the body is forcibly drawn back against the flange, 16, of the hub. Thusthe central portions of the body members are separated at the hub and obviously this separation being resisted by the felly or peripheral member results in placing the whole wheel under tension. Thus I produce a wheelof the true suspension type with all the advantages of that type, 'and without the disadvantages of so-called wire wheels,v The Vouter spoke member of the wheel body is formed in the same manner as the inner spoke portion, but inasmuchv asit does not bolt against a flange, I simply curve the central portion, 22', 'thus producing a resilient hub center or between the spokes and the hub. The advantages of the resilient hub or spoke center are of primary importance.

I have not described the felly portion of the wheel in detail thus far for the reason which are forced into that this can be modified in many ways the invention, and I have illustrated a number of different modifications in the drawings which I shall i describe in detail hereinafter.

construction shown in Figs. l5 and 6 is of `a type adapted to .receive a demountable rim, the flange portions 24 and 25 being provided for that purpose.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 -I have illustrated the wheel with' a demountable rim, 26, mounted thereon, 'in which is carried the usual pneumatic tire A27. The tire `containing de\ mountable rim, 26, is of the straight side type,l having integral side flanges, and `is secured demountably upon the wheel felly by means of a plurality of bolts, 28, yupon 'which'the wedge lugs, 29, are mounted, and position -between the flange, 24, of the -Wheel andthe demount- .able rim, thus seating the demountable rim firmly upon the back flange, 25, in a manner similarto that in vwhich a demountable 'rim is today mounted upon a wooden wheel having a felly band formed with a similar back flange. It will be understood that the Wedgelug, 29, is forced into place by means of the nut, 30, operating upon the threaded end of the bolt, 28.

The wheel structure shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is practically the same as that shown circular elbow The `felly Fig. 8 a rear wheel construction is shown,

a brake-drum, 35, being secured to the' flange, 16, of the hub. In this instance, also, nipples, 36, are formed on Athe inner spoke portion and enter openings provided therefor in the hub flange. These nipples form centering and alining means between the hub flange and the spoke portion and alllso serve as a clutch connectionv between t e of.I The same nipple construction is shown in Fig. 9; also a slightly modified connectiony between the ,spoke portions and the felly is also shown; that is to say, the end portions, 37, are brought through slots formed in the side walls, 38, and 39, of the felly and .there secured, instead of being entered through the 4cylindrical bottom portion of the felly. Y

In Fig. 10 I have shown my invention as I embodied in a wheel in which the felly band, 40, is a simple band instead of a channel, being composed Yof a central, cy: lindrical portion, rear conical flange, 41, and front, depending'flange, 42. The spoke ends in this instance are secured in the felly band in the manner already described."

In-Fig. 11 a modification is shown corresponding closely to that form shown in Fig. 10 except that the inner and outer spoke portions c lo not cross, as in the wheels previously described.

Fig. 12 illustrates a structure of the type which I prefer to use when a more rigid Wheel is desired. In this instance I provide inner and outer spoke portions, 43 and 44, which are secured to the hub in the usual manner, but botlr of which in this instance are secured in the radial outer flange, 42, of the Wheel felly. Intermediate of these parts, I place another spoke portion, 45,y

which is secured to the hub preferably by a number of rivets, v46, and the spokes of which\ are substantially parallel to the spokes of the outer portion, 44. The ends of the spokes, 47, are welded or fastened inl holes inthe peripheral band, at points closely adjacent the back flange thereof.

Those forms of my invention so far described are adapted to straight side tires, but it will be understood that my invention is not limited in any wise'to the particular construction of the tire, and in Fig. 13 l have illustrated my wheel as embodied in, or for, a clencher tire. In this instance no demountable rim is shown, the pneumatic tire being secured in the combined felly and 53, of the spoke portions of the wheel, areilB-O arranged between this flange, 51, and the wall, 54, of the brake-drum, 55. 'To hold the slpoke portions in proper spaced relation provide a spacing ring, 56, the various partsbeing rigidly secured together by means of a plurality of bolts, 57. In Fig.

- I have illustrated a wheel construction particularly for use with heavy vehicles such as trucks. While this particular structure is a rear or driving wheel, it will be understood that the general features thereof may be embodied in the front or steering wheel. In this instance the hub, 60, is provided with a flange, 61, to the inner side of which is fastened a metallic disk member, 63. The outer edge of the metallic disk member, 63, is formed over a pair of annular bands, 65 and 66, the inner band, 66, constituting a felly and being suitably `reinforced by ribs, 67, and the outer band, 65,"being in the,- nature of a tirecarrying rim upon which avsolid tire, 68, is mounte in this instance. As a support vfor 4the wheel in addition to the disk, 63, I

The outer or end portions of all spoke l blanks are secured in the felly member, 66,

in any suitable way, as for example, by entering them into slots formed lfor that purpose, and by welding them therein. y A;

very rigid lateral structure is obtained by extending'the spokes of the spoke member,

69, outwardly and the spokes of the spoke portion, 70, inwardly. Inthis instance the spokes extend beyond the center line. The

structure described provides a light truck wheel, but which is amply strong to withstand servicev conditions and at the same time resilient enough greatly to aid in absorbing 4some of the' road shocks and thus,

reduce the wear and tear upon the automobile parts.

` InFig. 16 I have illustrated stillanother l f type of truck wheel which is in effect adual wheel supporting, however, a single tire band. In this instance I provide Ia hub, 80, of usual ordesired construction, which conl tains thjeusual back flange, 81, to which the brake-drum, 82, is secured.

I The Wheel 'shown is' of the internal gear drive type having also secured to the .hub flange the internal gear member, 83. The bolts, 84, serve not only to fasten the brake-drum and internal gear member to thehub flange, but

also to secure the disk member, 8,5, which' has its inner portion, 86, in `engagement with thebody of the Ahub and its outer portion, 87, formed at substantially right angles to the'plane of the wheel, and providing a bolts, 84. The outermost member, 94, is secured to the hub as by means of rivets,

96, and the'intermediate spoke members, 92, and 93, are mutually connected by means of the short bolts, 97. The outermost portions of all spokes are secured in the fellyband, asz'indicated, and the spoke portions are tensioned in that same general way which ,has alreadybeen described; and especially by drawing the members, 92, 93, together asby means of the bolts shown; that is to say, by securing `the spoke-ends in the felly with thespoke portions closer together than they occupy ultimately in the finished wheel and then moving the opposed centers of the body members away from each other and there securing them.

Fig. 17` illustrates, in detail, a so-called quick detachable tire-rim having a main or body portion, 100, and a detachable side flange, 101. The end portions of the spokes, 102 and 103, are in this instance inserted into openings or slots provided therefor in the band,.100, and thenl welded permanently to unite them with the band.. In this'manner theybeoome an integral part of the band and their line of juncture is indicatedonly by means of dotted lines.

adetachable side flange, 106. The ydemount- 5 able rim is seated upon the band, 107, of the wheel which is provided lWith the conical front and back flanges, 108 and 109, for co-action therewith. The demountable rim is thusheld away from the band, 107, thus ,forming an annular space, 110. In this embodiment of my yinvention I may insert the spokes, 111, and 112, into slots provided in the band, 107, permitting tlie end'portions, 113,1 and 114, to project into the annular space, 110. Incidentally the projecting ends, 111', of the spokes, 111, may serve as felly studs to assist in centering the demountable rim on the wheel. In this instance the spokes may be either welded or crimped in the holes of the member, 107, as about to be described. i a

In Figs. 19, 20, 21 and 22, `I have illusleo the spoke-end slots.'

trated means of fastening the spoke-ends in the peripheral band whatever its kind. Fig. 19 is a plan View of the wheel band, which is provided with spaced slots, 120 and 121, and-in this instance the spoke ends are crimped, as shown at 122. When the ends are thus crimped in\the slots,.tl1ey are thereby firmly and rigidly locked to the peripheral band. Fig. 20 is a plan View of a wheel band illustrating the shape and positions of Figs. 21 and 22 are detail views illustrating the manner of welding the spoke-ends in the wheel band. In Fig. 21 the first operation is shown wherein the spoke-end projects into vthe slot, 125, in the band, 126, the eXtreme end portion, 127, extending ab`ove the band.. In the welding and finishing operations (indi- .cated as completed in Fig. 22) the ends are made integral with the band, completely filling the slots; and the projecting portions, 127. are obliterated and made. flush with the lsurface of the band. Thus the spokes are integrally united with the peripheral metal band. In every such case the tensioning of the wheel follows the operation of fastening thespokes in the peripheral band.

Fig. 23 is an enlarged detail illustrating a wheel embodying my invention and including a demountable rim, the demountable p rim and rim-supporting channel being of the construction shown in Figs. 8 and 9 bearing similanreference numerals. In this instance, however, the spokes are secured vin the felly-band or channel ina slightly different manner. The spoke-ends are insert- -ed through slots in the felly and the extreme end portions, 140, are bent down against the bottom of the channel, to which they 4may also be welded.

Fig. 24 is a cross-section illustrating a felly band -or demountable rim-carrying seat of the general form shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. In this instance, howeve the spoke end, 141, is welded in a slot provided in the front fiange of the band and mayeven have an endportion, 142 (indicated by means of dotted lines), formed parallel with and secured to the ange, in the same manner in which the end portions, 140, are united in the structure shown in Fig. 23. f

In Fig. 25 I have ,illustrated (upon an enlarged scale) the union of the hub andl body members of the form illustrated in Fig. 8, as the parts have already Ibeen Ade scribed, and are indicated by erence marks.

From the foregoing description it is evident that my inventive idea may be emthe same refbodied `in structures of widely differing? forms, many of which will immediately suggest themselves to one who is skilledin the art.

The advantages of my invention may be summarized as follows The resilience of the wheel prevents too rigid resistance to j lateral shocks and stresses. The wheel, weight for weight, is much stronger than xthe wheels in common use. Being in every case practically, and in several cases actually, a single piece wheel, its parts cannot loosen or become squeaky, and it does not present joints which are subject to rust. Being a one-piece wheel it does not deteriorate by usage in bad weather. Every part and surface is accessible and therefore thewheel is easy to surface finish and to clean. The wheeltwwill give good service even when` badly damaged by severe accident. Generally speaking the wheel has more elasticity combined with strength than either a wooden artillery wheel or a wire wheel. The Wheel,

weight for -`weight, is capable of carrying a heavier load `thana wire wheel and a much vgreater load in comparison with a wooden wheelof'equal size and weight, and, as infdicated, it is capable of niVaIi/ntaining greater side-wise stresses. The ieel istruly balfatigue is less than any other kind of' wheel.

For the reasons given the wheel measurably increases the life of tires. By increasing the hub len th it is possible to insure all requisites o strength in wheels of large diameter and where the latter are used with pneumatic tires the tire life'is 'of course increased. The relatively flat surfaces and thick edges of the wheel permit it to be finished byany approved `metal-finishing process and bythe application of platings, paintsand enamels of allkinds. `Not the least of the advantages of my wheel is Aits obvious beauty. -A moments consideration of the herein described processV of manufacturegives assurance. lthat compared with other wheels for the same uses it is'much lessexpensve to manufacture and to finish and the cost of its up-keep is practically m'Z.

Having thus describedmy invention, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent -v l. The herein described metallic vehicle and wheel band, theinner spoke blank being g secured to the hub flange in a plane substan-y tially parallel to the vertical plane of the wheel, and the outer spoke blank being se cured to the body of the h ub.

2. The herein described metallic vehicle wheel comprising a hub having a flange, an encircling, concentrically spaced wheel band, and out-er and inner spoke blanks extending between and secured respectively to the hub and wheel bandI` the inner spoke blank being secured to the hub flange in a plane substantially parallel to the vertical plane 'ofthe Wheel, and the outer spoke blank being secured to the body of the hub, said' inner spoke blank having its spoke portions .extending angularly outward crossing the entral vertical plane of the wheel, and the outer spoke blank having its spoke portions extending angularly inward crossing -thev secured to the body of the hub, said inner spoke blank having its spoke portions extending angularly outward crossing the central vertical lane of' the wheel, and the .outer spoke b ank having its spoke portion extending angularly inward crossing the central vertical plane of the wheel; and

said spokes being in tension between the hub-and the wheel band.

4. The herein .described sheet metal wheel that comprises-a peripheral metal band, in combination with` two sheet metal body members each composed of a center portion and a. plurality of spokes integral therewith and radiating therefrom, said band containing as many spoke-end holes as there are spokes in both lmembers, the-ends of said spokes being secured in respective holes, and means separating said members at the center and holding the wheel in tension.

5. The herein described sheet metal wheel that comprises a peripheral metal band, in

combination with two sheet metal body members each composed of aV center portion and a plurality of spokes integral therewith and radiating therefrom, said band containing spoke-end holes,y the ends of said spokes being secured in said holes, and means separating said members at the center and th-us holdlng the wheel 1n tenslon.

6. AThe herein described sheet metal wheel that comprises a peripheral metal band,` in combination with two sheet metal body members each composed of a center portion and a plurality of spokes integral therewith and radiating therefrom, said band containing as many spoke-end holes as there are spokes in both members the ends of said spokes being Welded in respective holes.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of. May, 1918.

JOSEPH A. ANGLADA. 

